XX Years Later
by InfernoDarkness
Summary: As the passing of time comes and goes, even the Titania and Salamander live alongside it. The past, present, future, all the events of their lives led to this. A sequel to A Knight's END. One-shot.


**A/N: This is a sequel and finale to A Knight's END ;)**

* * *

As morning came to pass, she felt the light peeking through the curtains, prompting her to rustle around slightly. After a long day yesterday, accompanied by a busy night, the woman with scarlet hair was seemingly worn out. It was worth it, she felt, taking on a lot of jobs was usually something she felt they were going to have to do now that things were as it was. This led to moments when they'd sleep to be one of the fairly few moments she could rest. Unfortunately, the light was also accompanied by the loud noises of two children complaining, slightly getting on her nerves as she tried her best to ignore what was going on. Eventually, after tossing around, using the pillow to silence the complaining growing louder, she grumbled a little in her sleep, until the alarm clock next to her went off, prompting her to pick it up and lightly throw it against the pile of past broken clocks.

"Natsu…" calling out to the dragonslayer, "Can you check on them?" she asked, wondering if the dragonslayer was there, "Natsu?" after not getting a reply, she sharply rose out bed, turning to face an empty side of the bed. If she was in a bad mood already, the fact that someone who was supposed to be there isn't had already begun to make it worse.

Her eye twitching slightly, she dragged herself out of bed to make her way to the source of the noise, which was somewhere in another part of the house. Passing by all the framed pictures of their adventures, such as one from the incident with lullaby and when Team Natsu was first formed, another during their celebration after being reunited with all the people she was captive with, one when Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games all those years ago, and most importantly, the day of their wedding. It was slightly funny a little, looking back on old nostalgic memories of their adventures, and odd how many things have changed since she could remember.

Since then, her hair had grown much longer, easily covering up the right half of her face, the back reaching past her waist. It was because of this that whenever she requiped her armor, she had it tied in a singular pony tail so that it would be easier for her to fight in. She had a light scar across her cheek from a mission she and Natsu overtook once, but it wasn't that bad, and she felt it was a nice defining feature for her, some said it even made her slightly more attractive, though it didn't matter what other people thought. She was happier than anything that, to Natsu, she will always be the most beautiful in the world. Still she'd sleep with pajamas, a habit she developed but enjoyed nonetheless.

"Come on that was my piece!" a young girl was heard yelling at someone, "Mom said she left me that just for me and you ate it!" dropped out of her fantasy, she was disturbed that the kids were still fighting, prompting her to make her way into the kitchen, "Mom! Tell Igneel that you said I could have that piece of cake" She was a young child with long pink hair and slightly draconic eyes and scarf looking like it was made out of dragonscales. She had long-sleeved buttoned shirt with a raised collar, and a light skirt.

Beside her was a slightly older child, a boy with short ruffled scarlet hair, and a slightly more strict demeanor much like her herself, "Irene, why are you always blaming me first?!" giving her a slightly stern glare, "I was just getting something to drink after practicing my magic before father came home to take me to the guild!" telling her. Unlike the girl, he wore a casual white shirt with blue pants, with a buttoned collared vest on top.

"First off" getting in between the two from fighting each other, she stood in the middle, both hands outstretched to stop the two from fighting further, "Irene, sorry but Mommy ate it, she had a long journey last night with your father on a few S-Rank missions" telling her seriously, even though she felt entirely guilty, "If you're a good girl…" lowering to her level, "Mommy will make Daddy buy you an entire one for tonight okay?" smiling at her daughters brightened face, "Now go get ready, Asuka is going to be here when we leave" ushering her off, "Speaking of which…" standing back up, she faced the boy, "Where's your father?" a little annoyed that he wasn't here.

Trembling a little, it was terrifying that even how things are now, she still had a look that most, if not everyone, were terrified of, "H-He said he was going to pick up something real quick with Uncle Happy, and-"

"Finally… we're home" interrupting the conversation, was the sound of someone that caught her attention immediately. Waiting until he made his way here, she focused her attention at the sound of the incoming voice, "Sorry, but we need to hurry before your mot-" frozen in place at the sight of Erza already awake, "E-Erza! You're awake… !-"

There he stood, Natsu Dragneel. Oddly enough he hadn't changed that much over time, gaining a few scars here and there but that was it. His bangs were longer, and if you ignored the pink colored and the ruffled nature, she could see the slight resemblance to his late brother, Zeref. He was taller, slightly more muscular and a high collared buttoned black shirt with red trips. The sleeves ran just mid forearm, and around him was a light cape fashioned into a scarf that looked like his old scarf. He wore similar white pants to his old one, but accompanied with wraps around near his ankles and light boots.

Before he could finish, Erza had swiftly drop kicked him, letting the child hastily flee before anything could happen, "I just had a talk with Igneel and Irene" telling him, "What was so busy that you had to go away in the morning and leave me dealing with the kids?" asking him a little sternly, "They woke me up because they were fighting over who ate the last piece of strawberry cheesecake" glaring lightly at him.

"Well… I uh… kind of forgot something so I went to go pick it up, hoping you'd still be asleep by the time I got home" smiling, even at this age, his sheepish grin was more than she could handle at the moment. Struck, she looked away, a little embarrassed as she got off seeing that he was trying to get something. She couldn't deny that she was curious, so as she watched him look around for the bag, he pulled out a small little pouch and held it out for her. Hesitant, she wasn't sure what was so important that he snuck out in the early morning to get. She was fairly picky when it came to jewelry, and while she couldn't deny that Lucy's collection intrigued her, she also felt that some of it didn't just quite suit her, so the fact that her husband had picked something out slightly worried her. Still, it was something he felt slightly proud of so she had to at least look a little happy regardless of what it was.

Her heart was pounding, just because she was a little unsure how she would take it, but seeing the happy cheerful look on his face slowly convinced that he must have worked hard for this, "Go on... you can look at it now" he happily assured her. Slowly, she unraveled the pouch and light shook whatever it was onto her open palm, and as she found out what had fallen, her eyes shot open, her heart racing as any sense of making words had left her as she looked up at him, "Yeah,... it was hard tracking that down" his expression died a little, remembering how difficult it was, "I kept hearing it went from place to place... so whenever I went out on jobs I took a little extra time to find it... then the troublesome part was cleaning it up so I found a person here in Magnolia... guy charged me 1,000,000 jewels" a little peeved.

"N-Natsu..." in her hand she held a necklace. It was on a light chain, but the emblem was an amulet that was beige and crimson, with a light dragon carved in the middle, behind it was a sword and shield. Some of the other things were also two U-shaped earrings, but they were all cleaned and slightly redone to look fresh and slightly new, "H-How did you..." she had recognized the earrings as they were what her mother wore when they fought, but the necklace she had heard was the 'gift' she was given from Belserion, and was her defining treasure she wore under her cape, "You even engraved the necklace..."

Smiling, he threw his hands behind his head, "Yeah... well... I should have asked you about that first" his expression slowly dying a little, "It was originally plain,... but I figured it was a way to sort of 'make it' more unique and yours" fumbling a little with the words, unsure how to have made it sound okay he did it, even if it was really entirely for her.

The words she had wanted to say weren't there. That unexpected side of his had always been both a curse and a blessing. In the long years they had been together, from the moment he first entered the guild, to the moment they formed their team those long years ago, his unpredictable nature was always the one thing people defined him as, other than being reckless. Smiling softly to herself, she carefully placed the gift back into the pouch they came from, and while firmly holding on to it, pulled him into a warming embrace, pressing her lips gently against his. To her surprise, he countered with his own, feeling a little cheated he added bits of his fire magic to intensify their kiss. Though, as loving as this little surprise made her feel, she had forgotten one simple thing,...

"Ewwww" hearing the cry from their daughter, she instantly pushed him away, "You guys were doing gross stuff!" turning to face, she saw that Igneel was pretending not to have seen anything, while Irene, without restraint, bursted out to call them out on what they were doing. Happy was there having aged a bit more, snickering still as he always had.

A little embarrassed, Erza immediately pushed her husband away, planting all the blame with him, much to Natsu's displeasure. "I-Irene...Igneel" feeling a little shameful she did something like that in front of their kids, "What're you two doing here?" a little nervous.

"Igneel said dad's home!" saying with a bright smile, "and uh... well..." throwing herself into a contemplative state, she was trying to remember the important bit. "Oh!" happy that she managed to remember, "He also said you're taking Igneel to the guild! I wanna go too! Please?" excited, she begged them.

The two of them looked at another before Erza looked at her son, who in turn kept his gaze away from being possibly killed by his mother's light glare. It wouldn't be long after she gave up and sighed a little before turning towards the little girl, "Fine fine" agreeing, "Tell your brother he has to look after you though, okay?" smiling, even though the weight of her words sent light shivers down her son's spine, "How about it, dear?" asking facing the dragonslayer, "Irene can still come right?"

"Sure" with a bright smile on his face, he assured her, "That way, no one can stop us from- owwch!" it wasn't long until Erza heard the full intent of what he was aiming at that she had suddenly struck him once more.

Glaring at him, "You. Are not. Getting our daughter. To fight." piercing her words and glare until he fully understood, "She's only 7, so don't go on getting riled up and starting fights with the other guild members with her around"

"Awww!" pouting the girl felt a little bummed, "I'm strong too, Mommy!" assuring her, "I study hard everrryyyyday with Igneel, watch!" gathering up her magic, she wanted to show off what she had learned with, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" letting out a puff of fire, "See?" proud of herself, she held up a victory v-sign with her fingers, "A 7 year old who can already blow fire!"

Excited, it was the dragonslayer who picked up his daughter, "Oohh! That was so cool, Irene!" happy, he began picking her up, "Sssh... maybe Daddy can teach you to..." however, he felt the presence of his wife getting a little upset, "Well... I'll tell you later" passing a grin and a thumbs up, to which his daughter followed suit, "Igneel!" turning attention to his son who was just standing there, probably feeling a little left out, "We have sometime before we go, didn't you wanna show me what you learned?"

"...!" a little taken back by the sudden request, he hesitated for a moment before his confidence built up, "Sure!" excited he followed him and Irene out the door so show his father the magic he was working on just before the situation with his mother.

Smiling to herself, she watched as the kids happily ran off with their dad as she made way herself, watching them from a distance what they were doing. After a while of getting complaints here and there, they had to admit, she and Natsu were not people who could be quiet or not accidentally destroy something whenever something happened, they moved out to the forest where Natsu and Happy lived prior. It was small, but with work here and there, they managed to expand out to a house large enough for them, and their eventual family. It was a little rough, having a transition a little farther away from the guild as she'd like, but with this she could at least watch her kids play outdoors, whether it was training or just all around playing. Watching, she smiled warmly, her arms crossed as the two kids ran around chasing him and Happy playfully, a little girl using dragonslayer magic, and their son, using spatial Requip magic she had taught him recently.

-[x]-

As promised, the two of them took their children over to the Fairy Tail guild. Their daughter was carried by Natsu, while their son was over on her side holding onto their hand. Considering she felt that today was a special occasion, she wore a nice casual sundress, with scarlet rose patters across, and a sun hat. It wasn't that long since they took their kids over to the guild, but with how far they lived it was always a little treat for them as some of the other guild mates would bring their children over from time to time. As they reached the door to the guild, in classic fashion, she watched as her husband kick the door wide open with a devilish smile on his face, something to which she couldn't believe her daughter adopted over the time.

"Oi! We're here!" shouting, breathing out a puff of fire as his daughter was sitting on his shoulders. Pausing for a moment, he turned up to his daughter and then to his son, "Irene, Igneel, show them your ferocious dragon roar" encouraging them slightly.

Excited, "Come on, Igneel!" happily facing her brother, she then turned to face them and roared out, "Raaawwrrr!" holding her hands up like claws, she gave her best impression, letting out her tiny puffs of fire. Beside them, Igneel was accompanying them by doing the same, "Rawwwrrrr!" using a terrifying expression that he inherited from his mother.

A little distraught, she held her face in her hands, as her worse fears were coming to fruition, her husband was teaching their children bad habits. This had reminded her slightly why she didn't let Natsu take their kids to the guild. Though, she had to admit that after settling down and having children, he hadn't gone out and started fights with the other members, at least, slowly he had stopped 'fighting' with their guild mates. That didn't mean he stopped their kids from fighting with other people though. As their little act died down, she watched from always as the kids ran off to play with the children of the other guild mates.

"Erza!" calling out to her was Lucy, "Let me guess... you guys want us to watch your kids while you and Natsu head out?" asking her. Over the years Lucy had grown a little more. Her hair was longer, and she always kept a pair of glasses with her from all her years writing novels involving her fantasy world and celestials.

Nodding, "We have some plans for today, and sorry about bringing Irene" telling her, "It was last minute, but she really wanted to come after hearing that her brother was going to be here"

"No problem" smiling kindly, "We don't get to see her very often anyways" turning to watch, she noticed how Irene was having fun with her daughter Anna, a girl with blonde hair, "Though... it's kind of scary how she literally looks like a mini-Natsu" feeling a sense of dread as she remembered all the horrible destruction Natsu caused in their younger days, "And wasn't that Igneel's scarf?" referring to their son, not the dragon that adopted Natsu.

Moving in, she made her way to rest up against the wall, "Yeah..." trailing off a little, she crossed her arms, "Igneel wanted to give her his scarf" explaining to her, "He's a strong kid though, he said he wanted to start learning god slaying magic because he wanted to protect his little sister" smiling gently, "He kind of won the favor from the Ten Saints" feeling proud of her son.

"...Wait" thinking for a moment, causing the Titania to feel a little scared realizing she was probably caught, "Aren't you and Natsu part of the Ten Saints?" dulling her eyes over at the Titania.

Having been found out, she quickly silenced herself as soon as Gajeel and Levy came in. She was so used seeing the Iron Dragon Slayer the way he was, that it was hard seeing him with shorter flared hair. Alongside him followed a small woman with bright blue hair tagging right beside him, and their kid, a girl with the same demeanor as her father, and a mixture of long black and light blue hair. Unfortunately, if anything was the same, it was the way he and Gajeel kept their 'frenemy' status with another. Something that transferred over to their kids.

"OI! SALAMANDER!" starting up, the Iron Dragon Slayer easily called out to the Fire Dragon Slayer, "What say we finally finish our fight from last time?!"

Getting riled up, "You're on!" engulfing his fists in flames, the two dragonslayers went into a standoff, eager to fight another.

"Hey,... Erza" a little embarrassed, Levy motioned over, "Your hair looks pretty" noting how her hair was, "Sorry about Gajeel,... you know how he gets when Natsu's around"

She couldn't deny that either, "Still..." turning her expression over to the fire dragonslayer, "Natsu!" calling out to him, a little stern and demanding, "Don't forget" causing the two dragonslayers to stop for a moment to look over. Just beside them, Irene and Igneel were also ready to fight up against Alicana, Gajeel and Levy's children.

"Well, maybe next time..." shrugging, he dispersed his flames just a little bit, "If we fought here the guild would be destroyed, so some other time, some other place" promising his fellow dragonslayer. Turning to his kids, he fell down to reach their level, "All right, Mommy and Daddy will be back okay?" smiling large, "Just remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do" snickering a little, "Igneel, Irene" calling out to them, "Okay?"

Nodding, Igneel was the first to understand, "Yes, father" understanding what he was, he smiled as his dad ruffled his hair, prompting him to turn to his little sister, "Come on, Irene, let's go find Lucis!" rushing off to find the child of the Ice Maker, the two of them smiled and laughed.

It was a little shocking to most how 'quiet' Natsu was with his kids, though with Erza as his wife they could lightly understand how it was. Watching their kids off, she waited as her husband made his way over to her, waving off his friend along the way.

"Well we're off" she told them, "And don't forget... if anything happens to our kids while we're away" suddenly the vibe around her changed as her wrath began to manifest, terrifying everyone except for her husband, "I'll know" passing a sharp glance at them before kindly looking towards her husband, "Shall we?"

Nodding with a smile, he raised his arm up as she grabbed hold of it as the two walked off together out of the guild. Holding his hand, their fingers laced with one another as they set off for their destination they had in mind. It wasn't going to be a long detour, but the two of them had been meaning to go there for a while, and with taking jobs here and there, as well as being part of the Ten Wizard Saints, a lot of their time had been eaten up to a point that they called up their friends at points to watch their kids other than just always leave them at the guild. Usually, since Igneel was just slightly older than Irene she didn't mind him at the guild, but that usually left Irene with Asuka, or Elie: Jellal and Meredy's daughter.

-[x]-

Resting, the two of them sat up against the tree on top of the hill, watching the sun slowly fall down. There was a blanket out with a packed lunch sitting on top. Plates were there with some remnants of food here and there being eaten with emptied drinks. They were going to clean it up later, but for the moment, they had wanted to enjoy the serene moment with one another before they went back to the guild to pick up their kids. Moments like these were blissful, she felt, slouching and using him as a cushion as she simply hugged onto him. Feeling him stroke and pet her hair comforted her, feeling any stress she may have had fade away. Resting her head comfortably on his lap, she lightly held onto her sunhat.

"That was quite a day, huh?" hearing him speak as the two rested up against the tree, "Did you like your gift?"

Mumbling a little to herself, relaxed, "Of course I did,... I told you this morning, didn't I?" reminding him, "Still... you didn't need to go through all that for our anniversary, Natsu" a little upset he did a lot for her, "But..." reaching up, she pressed her lips up against his cheek, "I'm happy you did" smiling up at him using the new place as her pillow. She was normally terrible at coming up with gifts.

"Of course I'd do all that" moving around slightly, to rest her on top of his chest, he lifted her face up slightly to face her, "Your happiness is all that means to me. A little extra work here and there isn't asking too much, and besides,.." trailing just a little, "Everyday with you is a gift" assuring her with a large grin, "Now... for the final assault of the 'Evil dragon slayer E.N.D.'" flashing an evil look at her face.

Her eyes shot opened wide, knowing what was going to happen causing her to fall back. "No, Natsu!" backing away a little, "I swear to god,... if you do... I'm going to ki-"

Before she could finish her 'threat' the dragonslayer had pounced onto her, tickling her like mad knowing that it was her one and only weakness. Unable to resist against the 'terrifying evil' that was known as E.N.D. Erza fell into submission to the 'deadly' tickles he was inflicting on her, laughing despite her attempts to stifle them. Even with her best attempt, she was trying to resist, hoping to stop him, but it was no use, Zeref's ultimate demon proved too much for her to handle, and as he stopped, he kept chuckling after he 'attacked' the Titania. The two of the continued, until their laughter slowly fell as they came face to face with another, wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes, her on the ground, and him just above her. Again, she was unable to hold back, as she held his face, and gently pressed her lips up against his, feeling him return it immediately. Breaking apart, just slightly, they looked into another's eyes, and before they continued, uttered just a single phrase to another with warm grin.

"I love you" and "I love you too"

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 **A/N: And that's it! Erza's and Natsu's story come to a close. (But Darky Dark) That is all, no more Natza (But what about...) So I hope you all enjoyed (DARKY) ugh fine. Like I said at the end of A Knight's END, I said uhhe... err... something about doing a little compilation of sorts of one-shots (And...) Aannnnnddd... well I thought of something better! So while that is being worked on... and stuff... That'll be it for now (Until maybe next week) And while it may not be exaaccccttllyyyy a one-shot compilation, I've wanted to do something a little more to expand my love for NatZa. Anywho, yes. Erza and Natsu are married after many many years... and they have two kids! Irene Mavis Dragneel, and Igneel Zeref Dragneel. It seems a little lazy, but I felt it was a little cute having them named like that. A lot of people wondered why Natsu was never 'Master' and it's simply because as much as that'd be cool, I also know he's the kind of mage to just constantly go out into the world and keep fighting and not just stay around. I hope you enjoyed this! And more NatZa will be underway! ;3 Darky Dark Darkness~~ :heart: :heart: heart:**


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